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"Mainiacs away from Maine are truly displaced persons, only half alive, only half aware of their immediate surroundings. Their inner attention is always preoccupied and pre-empted by the tiny pinpoint on the face of the globe called Down East. They try to live not in such a manner that they will eventually be welcomed into Paradise, but only so that someday they can go home to Maine."
-- Louise Dickinson Rich

There will be sweat.

I was going to ask these questions over at Operation::Goddess but nobody goes over there, like, ever. So, even though I don’t get as much traffic here at Snerkology as, say, Dooce, or Avitable (HAH! He’s SO going to shit bricks when he sees I mentioned him in the same sentence as Dooce), I have gotten 42,000 visitors since January. That’s not too bad, right? That’s enough of a sample size to get the info I’m looking for, I think.

So, my questions. As you probably don’t know because you don’t visit O::G, I’m going to be (re)embarking on a Fitness Challenge in November (it was supposed to be Shred for the month of October but my knees went South). One day a week I will be doing Pilates, one day a week I will be doing Yoga (per the doc’s orders, I need LOOOOOTS of stretching because my hamstrings are, like, four inches long), four days a week I’ll be doing a combination of strength training and cardio, and one day a week I’ll be SITTING ON MY ASS. So, for those of you who care (I can hear the deafening silence now), could you please answer the following questions (one or some or all of them) in the comments?

What is your favorite Pilates routine and/or DVD?

What is your favorite Yoga routine and/or DVD?

Should I cross train (where I warm up with cardio, then do a set of weights, then back to cardio for a few minutes, then back to weights, etc. until all the sets are done), or do straight cardio followed by straight weights?

HOW do I keep myself from getting deathly bored with cardio? I’ll primarily be brisk walking and doing the elliptical (no running (BWA!) and no Shred until my knees are strong and my hammies are flexible), and I hope to buy a bike in the near future, but GAH. Cardio is the part of the workout that Kills Me With The Dull.

Any other recommendations or things that have been working for you in your own fitness goals, that I can shamelessly steal for my own?

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You knew i was gonna attack this right? Here goes…
What is your favorite Pilates routine and/or DVD? – I SHOULD but don’t do Pilates.

What is your favorite Yoga routine and/or DVD?- I use the MTV Yoga routine..when I can’t run (injured, tired, weather), I mostly do Yoga when I’m sick or injured.

Should I cross train (where I warm up with cardio, then do a set of weights, then back to cardio for a few minutes, then back to weights, etc. until all the sets are done), or do straight cardio followed by straight weights? -No do the combo. You’ll lose weight faster and you need to keep the heart rate up.

HOW do I keep myself from getting deathly bored with cardio? – Power walk outside with your iPod. There’s ton to look at and hear etc, and your GOING somewhere..an hour seems to breeze by.

Any other recommendations or things that have been working for you in your own fitness goals, that I can shamelessly steal for my own? – I run (walk) 6 days a week and do a single “section” workout and then a combo..
Mondays-Legs (6 excercises), Weds- Upper body (8 excercises) and Friday- Entire body (8 excercises).
Don’t forget to eat really healthy or all of this will be for not!!!

Oh my gosh — get your water and tackle Camelback Mountain! Or the trails on South Mtn. Or head for Usary Park out towards Apache Junction — God I MISS that park soooo badly.

If you are really ambitious, head out for the Supersitions! Pick up a trail book at the library and once you read some of the history, you’ll be hooked! I have ridden every trail in the Supers…I told my husband he has to haul my ashes via horseback up to Circle Stone and spread them :)))

On the same note — I ran 2 miles today! I WILL be in shape to run with my daughter during track this spring! I love The Biggest Loser Cardio Max DVD btw….

I wouldn’t suggest yoga or pilates dvd’s at all. I would suggest joining a class so you don’t hurt yourself doing something the wrong way. THEN once you get used to how the different stances, poses and stretches feel doing them, try them on your own.

I know [Chris Farley]Jack! Squat![/Farley] about yoga or Pilates. But from what I do know about martial arts, I’d say Heather has a good idea – skip the DVDs and go for a class. Even beyond her reasons, committing to a class is a good way to keep you involved. (Ask Crisitunity about yoga and you’ll probably get a longer answer than you want.)

As for cross-training, I’d say use maybe 10 minutes max of cardio to warm up, then do all the weights you’re going to do, then do cardio at the end. I wouldn’t switch back and forth between them – you’ll get a more efficient weight-training workout if you aren’t worn out by cardio beforehand. Do your biggest, multi-joint exercises first (squats, lunges, presses) when you’re freshest, then do isolation movements (curls, extensions, etc.) last. Then when you’re all whipped and you’ve used all your energy moving heavy things, hop on the cardio and wear yourself the hell out.

I hate, hate, HATE cardio for the boredom, also. The best suggestion has already been mentioned above – get outside. Other than that, I’ve found the sessions go faster for me if you can get someplace that has TV’s in front of the equipment. Even if it was the news or a sporting event I didn’t care about (basketball, for example), the time seemed to go faster. I had earbuds in all the time anyway, the visual just gave me something else upon which to focus my attention.

I badly need to get back into a gym or a pool or SOMETHING. Of course, I need to quit coughing up a lung first.

My best friend Pam SWEARS by her weekly classes. She also worked with a PT for a long while… it kept her motivated, accountable and most of all taught her the “right” way to do things.

In addition to her cardio and other classes, She also does a class called “Body Flow ” once a week… it is a mixture of Yoga, Ti Chi & Pilates… I’ve seen her just after that class and she is glowing and claims she is so relaxed and her body feels SO GOOD ..!

In the last Yr. and a half she’s lost right around 180# with ONLY Diet and exercise, I know that YOU have no where Near that to lose, but it does go to show, the weight loss and STRENGTH gain and TONING can Happen…!

K – I actually have that yoga DVD, but it’s faster paced than what I want to do right now. And I will walk outside, but my neighborhood is BORING and it seems silly to me to drive somewhere, get out, walk around, and drive back home. Snort. And, I will be eating healthy, thanks!! 😀

Farmwife – I’m actually hoping to convince Calvin to go hiking with me. I have a book of great Sedona hikes. And Camelback is awesome – like stair-stepping all the way up and down. I haven’t done it in years. I also like the Lost Dutchman’s Mine trail in the Superstitions. Now that the weather’s nice, I’m going to get to convincing Calvin!

Heather – I’ve actually taken classes in both, so I’m pretty good at it. And whenever I get a new workout DVD I watch it all the way through first before trying it out.

TB – I miss Chris Farley!!! And I would like to go to classes for the whole inclusion thing, but all of the ones I’ve found around here are so darned expensive! You know, I think I’ll take you up on the 1/2 cardio, then weights, then other 1/2 cardio. And I’m alternating days between upper and lower body weights. I hope you’re feeling better and that darned cough has gone away!!!

Lana – Oh man, I wish I had her gym near me! That Body Flow class sounds fantastic. And thanks for your well-wishes!

I think I’m going to start reading your blog, because your lyrics to TB’s Halloween contest were so funny, and here’s my first comment.

TB is right, btw, if you’d asked me about yoga I would have given you a too-long answer; my short answer, Mr. Smarty Pants, is to agree with heatherjo and tell you to try a class. A lot of studios have “community” classes once a week at reduced rates, so look for those. If you don’t find anything you like/can afford, I recommend the AM/PM yoga DVD with Rodney Yee and Patricia Walden. The PM in particular is really good.

I lost about 20 pounds between November ’07 and June ’08, and the way I did it was by dragging myself through a 20-minute Kathy Smith workout almost every day. Aerobics bore me to tears, but I just clamped down on my brain saying “I HATE THIS I HATE THIS I HATE THIS” and kept going, remembering what I was doing it for. If elliptical/weights is the way you’re going, maybe putting audiobooks on an iPod is a solution you might try. If the workout is too intense for that kind of concentration, I have no answer for you, because I hate the TVs while I’m working out. Sorry.

I always drive places and get out and walk. It’s fun because different places have different tracks and trails. It keeps it interesting. My favorite is Wicker Park just because it’s a 2.5 mile track and I know exactly how long it SHOULD take for me to do it and there’s a doggie park there too. But Oak Ridge Prarie is nice because of all the different trails (I almost got lost once, but luckily all of them lead back to the parking lot).